Family

It's all relative

By Donald Joy

I find it amazing the amount of memories rekindled since having discovered this website, even more amazing is the new information I am getting. I refer to my family, immediate and extended. I was not aware of the number of different family names, all linked in one way or another, to my family. My name at birth was Smith, after my mother remarried I was adopted and became Joy.

My grandparents were Turner, who in turn had relatives of the names of Finch and Barr. The Barrs, I understand lived on the King Edward estate in one of the roads called ??? Mead, dates unknown. I also had an aunt Mag and cousin Judith, surname Lana ? who lived in Buckingham Road until such time as it no longer existed. Another cousin lived in Northumberland Avenue, Malcolm (Macky) Scott, he went on to marry Jacqueline Shepherd (she would be mortified if she knew she was related to me, even by marriage). Another aunt, this time in Vowler Road (I think) Lily Scott, she may have been Malcolm's mum but I'm not certain. Through the Scott link there is also another link to Toomeys. My Nan and Grandpa lived in Waverley Road. I lived for at least my first year in Victoria Avenue before taking up residence in Pound Lane.

Much of this information is new to me, since conferring with yet another cousin, Cassie Turner, who with the rest of the family, my aunt and uncle, lived in Manor Road opposite to the Manor Mission. So along with my other set of grandparents, the Turners, in Denbigh Road, we had a pretty widespread cover of old Laindon.

Thanks to this website, for if I hadn't stumbled across it, I would never have known all this stuff. Without it I would not have made the effort, nor would I have even thought to do so. But having found so much of great interest on here just seems to have kicked my butt into gear. Funny that, sounds as though it came straight from one of my old school reports!